Alas, the all-important Snatch Game challenge was Chanel’s downfall. Her impersonation of Coco Peru may not have been it. But it was some much-deserved love for the drag icon, who said she was “flattered and grateful for her acknowledgment of this old queen.”
And bonus: Chanel is a funny and witty interview. Read on for her thoughts on the show and her sewing school.
You’re wearing a ginger wig! I guess to make up for not wearing one for your elimination.
I know! I remember when I got in the bottom, we were in Untucked, and I was saying to the girls, isn’t it hilarious that we have to sing like this? We literally have no choice. You’re not allowed to change your outfits. If you’re able to wear how Actavia had something underneath, you can do that. But with the way I engineered the “Doctor Who” look, there was no way I could have anything underneath that, let alone breathe or move in this thing.
Was it uncomfortable to wear?
Oh, completely. I almost passed out on the main stage. There was a point we had to cut cameras and bring me a chair and water, and I had to be unzipped and sit there for a minute because I was really struggling. I’m glad they didn’t include that. But yes, it’s a costume that, honestly, I will never wear again. It shall sit in the archive in the west wing, somewhere gorgeous, maybe in a bulletproof glass case.
WOW Presents
What’s your takeaway from your time on the show?
I think with reality TV, it’s very difficult to look at what you watch and take that as verbatim. People say sh** behind your back or people say things in confessionals, but the reality is I couldn’t care what they say on the TV. It’s what we say to each other that’s important. And how we support one another. I believe that people hated me on that show. I was a horror. But we’re no longer in the show, so there’s no reason to hate me now. I’m a very nice person outside of the workroom. You’ll find me always walking old ladies across the street, giving children candy, just giving back to the world. I tell you this: I would be a bitch to people, but I would be the first person to buckle them up, zip them up, fix their hair.
And you’re a talker, apparently.
I’m a very controversial individual, and I think on that show, whether you love me or hate me, you’re talking about me, you’re obsessed with me. If I’m talking, it’s because the conversation that’s happening is tragically boring and I’m trying to add something to the room that isn’t just Kyran (Thrax) screaming; or Zahirah farting; or La Voix yabbering on about how she knows this person, that person, what she had for breakfast; or Dita being quiet in the corner. I may talk too much but you’re on a reality TV show. If you are not talking, you will be sent home. If you do not have a perspective, if you do not have an opinion, you will be sent home. Because why keep you? What’s the point?
Right! You’re there to show the world who you are and let them get to know you.
Well, it just wasn’t my fault that the camera was on me the whole time. I didn’t mean that at all. I didn’t want the camera time. It’s just there. It was there. It’s not with my control, you see. I begged them for less screen time, honestly, but they just, they couldn’t help it.
What’s next for Chanel O’Conor?
I’m going to spend two weeks in a sanitarium. I’m thinking full frontal lobotomy and to get my knees done so I’m a bit taller. After that, come back fresh set, ready to go. The show is an amazing platform. But it is a platform and it is a leaping point for you to do what you want to do in life. I want to meet people. I want to speak to people. I want to see people, and I also want to show my personality. I’ve been really working hard on a YouTube series where I comment on every single episode, and I will still be continuing. I may not be there but I can still have an opinion about these ugly heifers. We’ve got our Dracula’s Child girl group that will be touring the U.K. I’m also going to be starting sewing classes and doing some fun activities with anyone who wants to come and learn how to make some basic drag outfits.
That’s a brilliant idea. Chanel’s Sewing School for Drag Queens.
At the end of the day, I’m a teacher. That’s one thing that I am very good at, is instructing and telling people what to do. Oh, it comes from a deep place within. And there’s far too many people out there who go on that show and don’t know how to sew. Come see me and we can figure something out. And I’ll teach you how to make an outfit that will win a badge. You won’t win the badge. Someone else will win the badge if you make the outfit for them.
